6.24.2006

Empty and Quiet

Well. Here am I completely alone in a house that is empty and quiet. I have found myself sans family for the second time in as many years for a whole week. A whole week. I didn't ask for this; both times this sort of thing has just plopped into my lap. It's a bittersweet thing, however. It's nice to have time on my own, but I realize the flipside is that Andrea has the kids and still has to be "on" as a Mother. She'll have some moments to herself later on in the day, or whenever her Dad and/or Mom plays with the kiddos, but all in all, the kids are with her, not me. I am essentially free from any kids or spouse. Free, but hanging out in an empty home.

At first it's nice to have peace and quiet, but then it dawns on me that this silence is hollow and soulless. I miss the ambient sounds of life emanating from various rooms in our little abode: the quirky babbling and constant banging of toys on tables and/or floorboards from Ezra, the shuffling feet of my wife as she walks by me in the dining room (sometimes we set up the computer on the table there), opening and shutting of doors, the TV, the air-conditioning kicking in, the settling, creaking, breathing of an older house.... All this I miss right now.

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What to do with myself? Well, I went to go see some movies last night. Three, to be exact. I had a free movie pass from my AMC MovieWatcher program and decided to go see AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Please go see it. I loved it. Who knew that Al Gore could be so intoxicating and funny as a speaker? The best movie I've seen this summer so far, save maybe Pixar's CARS. It did its job by opening my eyes to all that's been going on with our environment and the whole Greenhouse Effect situation. Mind-numbing, eye-opening, fascinating, and almost too disheartening, An Inconvenient Truth is one great movie. I find documentaries fascinating, but I know that docs are not everyone's cup of tea. But here, I have to say that along with the pacing and editing paired with Gore's sharp demeanor and open candor was right on target with the subject matter—even the most die-hard doc-hater would certainly enjoy this engrossing movie. Highly recommended, not only for the entertainment value, but also for the sake of the earth.

Saw the most recent SUPERMAN RETURNS trailer. There was a shot in it that is now making the geek-rounds through the internets, dubbed the "Bullet to the Eye" shot. I'm very impressed. Just a great reminder of how much Superman is the Man of Steel. Here, take a lookie-see:

The second movie I saw last night was CLICK. Eh. Whatever. Not much going on there. Really, if I want to see a film that has a message about realizing just how much I could be missing in my life if I just stop and smell the roses, I'd go see CARS. Again. Even though the storylines are similar, I'd much rather see cars talk than dogs humping stuffed animals over and over. (Apparently this is funny to the filmmakers. Also, they think that having kids and adults alike drop the S-bomb multiple times is funny, too. Not me. I found it extremely irritating.) Oh, and come on. I saw the ending a MILE away, people. I just knew what was going to happen. Pah-leeeze.

The third film was NACHO LIBRE. I wanted to like it, because I like Jack Black, but it wasn't all there for me. Most of the jokes and characters rang hollow. Dunno what they could've done to make it work, but putting oddball characters together just for the sake of seeing them together will not always bring the laughs. There has to be some substance to the jokes. Here, most of the film was disconnected—I really liked Nacho's friendship/relationship with the new nun on the block, played by the incredibly underused Ana de la Reguera, but there was no connection between the two. Even though we see that Nacho definitely has feelings for her, again, it all rang hollow for me. Oh well. I still like Jack Black, even if he makes a dud.

Yes, you know, I've had that experience when Max stays at my mom's for the night. At first it's wonderful. Intoxicating. I feel like my old self. But within hours, I realize that I miss that little life, whirling and swirling all around the house.

Three movies! Luxury. I've wanted to do a sans Max double feature for a while, now. But there's very little playing that I want to see ... movies lately have sucked.

Those weeks alone are good prep for the inevitable LIFE alone that Wendy and I now see rapidly approaching (believe me Ward, the time flies!) as our boys attend middle and high school.

Did you find it at all ironic that the two movies you so thoroughly enjoyed represent the diametric opposite philosophies in the global warming crisis?

CARS may be intended as innocent fun, but the decision to anthropamorphize (is that a word?) cars as people underscores our society's love affair with the single most destructive force of life on the planet.

Leif, that is funny. I did not pick up on the irony there. I like to think that the world that the cars in CARS lives in thrives on CO2 and carbon monoxide, so I don't have to feel so bad about liking the movie so much.

Regarding SCANNER DARKLY, yes, I am actually interested in seeing this film. Although I am harboring some ill-will towards the producers for yanking the project out from under the original animation director, Bob Sabiston. He was the one that came up with the program Rotoshop, what they dub "interpolated rotoscoping." I like the process, I loved the film WAKING LIFE, and have always dug the way that Sabiston approached his work. I love risk-taking and that's what Bob and initial gang of animators did for that first movie. SCANNER DARKLY is bound to be a dud at the box office, but I don't care. I'm very curious to see just how the software and the animators approach the film. That's it, really. I'm just very very curious.